Hand's of Fate
by Red Wasabi
Summary: When Raphael disappeared his family feared the worst. However their worst never included Bishop and his ungodly expirments. Can Raphael be saved? And by who?
1. Chapter 1

I'm back again!...:crowd sobs:

Disclaimer:I don't own the TMNT, I just own my plot and OC's!

Top of Form 1

Number Fifteen turned away from the escaping back of her commander, Number Fourteen. She was going to have to face the enemy force without back up. Dammit.

The objective of this mission was supposed to be just basic information gathering. Number Fifteen's mind briefly flashed back to Handler A, who had briefed them for this mission.

"_Your job is to get in to the complex, decode and download all the information on a project called, 'New Warrior.'_" Handler A had said, holding up a small black rectangle that was about half the size of a human pinkie finger. "_And then get out. I don't think I have to tell you how important it is to not be seen, and how important this information is to us._" He turned away and began to leave their containment unit, but then stopped before the electric force field doorway. Without turning around he added in a blank voice, '_A word of warning; Do not look at the information you are gathering._' 

Number Fifteen scrunched her snout as she braced herself against the first wave of attackers. '_Well I guess that's one warning we really didn't listen too,_' she thought as she neatly dispatching the first soldier that came at her. Her body moved with natural ease and instinct to defend herself. And after a whole lifetime of training she guessed it should be. The more soldiers that came at her, the faster and more deadly all her blows became. She couldn't afford to be humane tonight, if you'll excuse the expression. '_Espionage, that was all it was supposed to be tonight. But Number Fourteen just had to investigate the data. Now look where I am, fighting off a whole f-ing army!_' 

Number Fifteen flipped over the heads of the oncoming soldiers, whipping out her phaser lash. Before the soldiers were able to turn, they were in pieces and she grinned sadistically. Number Fifteen had known it was a bad idea to look at the data they were stealing, but Number Fourteen's urging and her curiosity had gotten the better of her. Before she knew it she was sitting at the computer desk pouring through the file project 'New Warrior'. A first it had just been the usual project schematics. The usual objectives, the usual experiments... but then she found the file on the test subject. Complete with digital images of the subject from the last two weeks it had been there. His green skin, and his hateful eyes. Even after two weeks of torture he still had enough spirit to hate. He reminded her of herself, when she had first been brought in. That was when she knew that they would not be leaving with just the data, they would be leaving with the subject in their custody, or die trying. 

The whooshing sound of opening doors ripped Number Fifteen from her thoughts. Just in time too, because a fresh batch of soldiers just marched in, but these ones had guns. 'Great, I am so going to kick Number Fourteen's ass when I see him next. I should have been the hostage rescuer!' she thought while dodging a barrage of bullets. Pulling a handful of small smoke grenades out of a pouch around her waist, Number Fifteen threw them towards the firing soldiers creating a thick noxious smoke screen. _'That should buy just enough time to get the hell out of here_,' she thought while quickly moving towards air vent that Number Fourteen and company and gone through. 

Once inside the small air hole, she didn't even stop to catch her breath as every moment could be the crucial one, life or death for not only her, but her partner in this current crime. She cracked a small bitter smile while moving through the ventilation, '_It's just like training exercises. Dodge movement scanner, slide under laser beam trip, don't step on the weight sensor... God I hate this._' She was almost at the exit when she heard a raspy voice call out softly from a nearby vent passage way.Bottom of Form 1

Bottom of Form 1


	2. Chapter 2

Top of Form 1

Hola. I'm here with a nuevo chapter! And a much better mood. My puppy has not peed at all today in my house! Yay! By the way the wonderful and very open job of editor por me is still aviable! So inquire with in if you're interested! 

Number Fifteen tensed and swiftly pulled out her phaser, she knew that in all likeliness it would be a trap. But on the slim chance that it was a genuine call for help, she could not ignore the voice and continue one to where Number Fourteen was waiting for her at their check point.

Sticking to the sides of the shaft, she lightly stepped the edge of the wall where around the corner, where either a victim or her untimely death waited. Raising her weapon in front of her to deflect any possible gunfire, she stepped into the entrance way that vent shaft. Number Fifteen was surprised to find that instead of an assault team waiting for her, she found her commander, Number Fourteen, knocked out and a semi lucid experiment peering at her with suspicion.

"Oh Sweet Aunt Biffy!" Number Fifteen exclaimed while bringing her weapon down and rolling her eyes. She bent down to check Number Fourteen's pulse, _'At least it's strong_,' she thought with sarcasm, '_But it won't be when I get through with him!_' Number Fifteen leaned over to survey the experiment.

"Hey Lady, I don't do that on a first date," He mumbled while trying to feebly back away from her inspection, finding it rather difficult to back up when he was already leaning against the shaft wall.

Number Fifteen's face dropped in to an expression of disgust. '_Great, we rescued a pervert_.' Leaning back into a crouch, she looked at him and asked, "Two Questions. First one, can you stand? Secondly, what the hell happened to Fourteen? Answer the first question first." The turtle looked t her through his haze and then slowly bobbed his head up and down. "Great, then stand up, I can carry Fourteen. I can't carry the both you. And if it comes down to choosing between you or him, I'll chose him. So you'd better be able to get along." 

'_At least that seemed to have gotten through to him,_' Number Fifteen thought with satisfaction as the other turtle began to struggle up. She hefted her commander over she shoulder and stood. Turning her head and looking over towards their new companion who was now standing, abet unsteadily, she nodded her head and said, "Hey, you," the turtle turned his rapidly sharpening gaze towards her, "I hope you can run, cause as soon as soon as we're out of this shaft, we have to make a break for it. Try to stay as close to me as possible, and remember if you fall behind, you're left behind. Understand?" The turtle nodded his head. "Well then, follow me."

Number Fifteen quickly went back to the ventilation screen, which lead to freedom. Phaser out, she slashed through the barbed wire encased screen, and almost instantly an alarm began blaring. 

"Quick! This way!" She yelled as she jumped out of the vent and on to the ground. She began to haul shell towards their check point, where waiting for them was a small, stealthy fighter aircraft. Currently its light wave disrupting shield was up, so it was invisible to the naked eye. '_Lucky for me,_' Number Fifteen thought, '_I don't have your average naked eye._' She squeezed her right eye shut and then re-opened it. '_There it is! Ready and waiting. Gotta hate The Association for what they are, but I gotta love their toys!_' Fifteen thought with glee, the adrenaline pumping through her body. 

She was almost to the ship when she felt the ground behind her ripple, and then exploded with gunfire. She almost turned around to see if one of the bullet had gotten their escaping friend, but remembering her words to him, she just dashed on to the open bay door of their little carrier. '_I told him to run as fast as he could,_' she thought a twinge of sadness creeping up her. '_If he couldn't do then it was his fault. Not mine._' 

Reaching the plane she hurried in, and was about to shut the bay door when she was shocked to see a bleeding, but otherwise fine figure stumble through the door and collapse. Smiling she closed the door and dumped her commander next to the panting turtle's body, "Thought you weren't going to make it," she said with a laugh.

The turtle groaned and mumbled, "Thought I wasn't gonna to make it either!"

Number Fifteen laughed again and then quickly assumed her seat at the helm and fired the ship up. By this time she knew that the air force would be coming in a matter of minutes. But still there was something she had to do before leaving Area 51 completely. She accelerated straight into the sky and then looking down at the complex, pushed the red button. A Mini bomb shot out form her carrier, headed straight for the heart of the complex. Before it even exploded, she maneuvered the ship around and shot off into the night.Bottom of Form 1


	3. Chapter 3

Meow...I am hungry...that is all I have to say.

"What were we thinking?" No. 15 said aloud to no one in particular.

They were zooming through the sky in a custom hover plane with absolutely nothing to do. 15 could only think about the recent events that had transpired. In one brief moment of compassion, 14 and she had both betrayed the Association. They would be killed for treason, at best. At worst, they would be kept alive, but as experiments, like their poor friend had been.

She glanced over at their 'friend' who was currently sleeping, though it didn't look like it was a peaceful one. His eyes moved rapidly and his arms twitched. No. 15 contemplated waking him, but she decided he probably needed the undisturbed sleep. Next to him was her commander and best friend-- her only friend, No. 14.

As she looked at him, he began to groan and while rolling over on to his plastron he started to retch.

'Ew', she thought with distaste. It was funny really, in the heat of battle she could maim and slaughter with the best of them, but in just everyday regular life, the mere thought of a broken bone made her queasy. She turned her head back around to the window, 'I can...uhh... Help him when he's done.' she reasoned.

Soon No. 14's retching noises had stopped and she looked back towards him. He was on his shell now, staring up at the ceiling of the aircraft, breathing in deeply.

"Feel better now?" No. 15 questioned with an amused lilt to her voice.

No. 14 rolled his head over to look at his partner and friend and glared with what he hoped was a menacing dark look before saying groggily, "Did you happen to get the number of what it was that hit me?"

No. 15 smirked and replied, "I totally saw it... It was your mom!" guffawing at her own joke. She soon realized however, that the joke was lost on No. 14 who had begun scowling at her. She sniffed and shook her head, "You know...it really was a funny joke," she said while stretching out one of her lean green legs.

No. 14 began to lift himself up, struggling to succeed he murmured, "No, really it wasn't." Falling back down he looked at No. 15, who was watching him struggle with great interest, and flatly said," You know, a little help would be appreciated..."

Faking ignorance, 15 made a great show of looking all around the cabin for another person before finally pointing to herself and innocently asking," Me?" Laughing she got up and pulled 14 to his feet. He swayed for a moment then regained his equilibrium. As he walked over to the other pilot's chair, 15 finally asked the question that had been burning in her mind.

"So, what happened to you, one moment I see you leave, not unconscious and the next moment I see you, you're so not in the realm of consciousness."

No. 14 sat down hard in the chair. Rubbing between his eyes, he looked up with a serious face. "We were almost through the ventilation system, when I don't know, if it was Him or me, but one of us stepped on a trigger and gas came out of no where. I think I was unconscious after that; I don't remember anything other than when I woke up in here puking. How did you get out with both of us? I mean I know you're strong, with all that nanotech in you, and you should be, but...I didn't think you were _that_ strong. "

"I didn't. That guy," she jerked her head over in the fitfully sleeping turtle's direction, "was still conscious, when I came by. I would have left you both in that shaft if he hadn't of called out to me. He was even able to run fast enough during our escape to make it here. Then he passed out."

14 looked at the prone figure of the turtle lying on the floor of their ship, "You know he might just be an asset, think about how physically tough this guy would have to be in order to resist that gas and make the run to our ship."

"I think you may be giving too much credit to fear and the fact that you probably got the largest dose of gas 14." No. 15 said blandly. "But I think we have a bigger problem then his abilities."

"What's that?" questioned 14.

"What are we going to do? We've disobeyed direct orders, a number of direct orders in fact. And you know the punishment for that. We'll be charged with treason and either killed, or experimented on." She said softly.

No 14 closed his eyes and sighed. "I have an idea."

"Already?" 15 asked incredulously.

14 looked at her sheepishly and slowly said, "No, I've been developing this idea for a while now, and now, it seems that we're going to have an opportunity to explore it. But I don't think you're going to like it, I don't even know if you're going to want to follow through with it, But I--I'm going to."

15 smiled nervously at 14 and softy replied," I've been trained to follow whatever commands you see fit to give me, even this will be no exception."

14 nodded his head and quietly began," You've had the plane on auto fly since we first took off right," 15 nodded," and we have the information that they wanted, right?" Again 15 nodded beginning to see where this was going," Here it is, then, right now, we are directly over New York City; my idea is that we never leave New York City; we land the plane briefly and abandon it, leaving it to fly its way back on autopilot. At command they'll think that we died during the mission, but were able to, with our last efforts, send them the information to the plane before initiatingautopilot."

15 nodded, and turned towards the control panel, giving the plane the command to land.Glancing back at 14 she said so softly that he almost didn't hear her, "Yes, Sir." The plane began to descend to the rooftop of an old high-rise apartment. Turning towards 14, she asked softly, "What are we going to do?"

Reaching out to squeeze her hand, 14 smiled tightly and simply said," We're going to survive."

The plane then landed with a light thump, but it was just hard enough to jar awake their sleeping friend. Raising himself up to rest on his arms and rubbing his eyes, he looked up at them and said with barley contained hope," Are we home now?"

Walking over to the door hatch, 15 looked at him and said with am amused voice, "Well buddy, I don't know where your home is, but this place seems to be ours now." She stepped towards him and offered her calloused green hand to help him stand up. Slowly he grasped it and pulled himself up.

14 was busy with the control board, typing in a new program that would allow it to fly unmanned back to base, once they were off. "There. All done, it's programmed, we've got a minute to get off," he said while moving towards the open hatch. 15 quickly pulled their friend along with her as she followed 14 out on to the rooftop. Hurrying to the edge of the roof, a safe distance from the aircraft, she turned around to peer into their new friends eyes.

"So, Buddy, what's you're name anyway?" she cheerfully questioned. The turtle looked blank for a moment, before meekly responding," Don't you know what my name is?"

14 cocked his head and gave a long look at their friend's face, before asking," Why would we know your name?"

As a fearful look began to build in the turtle's eyes, he replied in a small voice," Aren't you guys my family?"

15 laughed. 'Family? As if they could ever be a functioning family.' she bluntly said," Buddy we don't know you, before last night, we never even knew you existed!"

"Then--why did you rescue me? You look just like me...I had thought... that you were my family. Who am I?" He hesitantly stammered out.

14's snout scrunched up and squinted at the turtle through one eye. He asked," Can you remember anything before your interment?" Their turtle friend blankly stared at him and then shook his head. "I only remember the lab," he said, visibly shuddering at the memory.

15 smiled at him and gently said," Well, Buddy I can't help you with who you used to be, but--I think I can help you with who you are now." Stepping back she gazed critically up and down at him before finally continuing on," Your new name is Buddy. You're part of this family, however deformed it may be. We are anthromorphic Turtles, We live here in New York City now, and we don't have a home yet, but we will. We don't know anything yet, but I'm confident in the abilities of my commander. You should be too."

14 suddenly broke in." Look! The sun, it's rising...This is our first sunrise, in our new lives."

They watched the sun as it began to peak over the edges of the skyscrapers and high rises. Beautiful golden-red streaks stretched across the sky, like the arms of a magnificent fire God.

As they watched the sunrise for the first time in their new lives, 14 put his hands on 15's shoulder and leaning in towards her, saying quietly," By the way 15, the moment we stepped off the aircraft, I gave up the title of commander. You can call me your brother now."

15 shot a joyful look into 14's eyes and, taking his hand and the newly christened Buddy's, she shouted to the glowing sky, words which she had never heard said together before," Welcome Home!"

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Meow! It's out! It's really really out! I promise this time... . 

Swoosh...swoosh! Leonardo's katanas sliced through the air with practiced and synchronized motions. He moved around the Dojo, occasionally blocking or stabbing at unseen enemies. For the last four hours, Mater Splinter had been watching him. He knew that of all his sons, Raphael's disappearance weighed the heaviest on Leonardo. Splinter watched Leonardo for a moment longer, before sighing and slowly walking off to meditate in his room.

Sweat dripped down Leonardo's brow and into his eye, where it strung almost to the point of tears. But he would not cease his self-imposed punishment, not when he had failed so miserably to protect his family. It had been over two weeks now, almost three, in truth, nearly a month since they had their last explosive fight, the kind that always led to Raphael storming out the door in a black mood. Of course, Leo hadn't tried to stop him, or reason with him, Raph always came back in the end. Except...this time...he didn't.

The morning after their fight Leo had expected a greeting by a grouchy and hung over Raphael at the kitchen table, except he wasn't there. He never came home.

Leo remembered the tense panic that had begun to build up inside his chest after the second day had passed with no sign of their wayward brother. He had started calling people at that point, Casey, April, even the bar that he knew his brother frequented most often. They found nothing. Then they began to patrol for him. They checked alleyways, parks, dumps, the dock, but once again, nothing had shown up. It was if in the moment that their unruly brother had walked out the door that fateful night, he had just ceased to exist.

Leo went to complete a katana move when he misstepped and one of the swords slipped gracelessly from his hand. Slowly Leonardo lowered the sword in his other hand, staring blankly at its fallen twin. (Possibly insert this instead) Losing Raphael was tearing him apart and he knew that it was just a matter if time before the rips began to show and grow. Letting his second sword drop from his grasp, Leo kneeled down and crossed his legs, easing into a mediation pose. If an observer had looked in on him at that very moment, they would not have been able to distinguish whether it was sweat, or tears that were rolling down Leonardo's face.

Michelangelo sat on his bed, reading the same Silver Sentry page over and over again. He couldn't help it, the words were fuzzy. They just couldn't seem to make it from the page and in to his mind. They kept getting lost somewhere in between. "Lost...just like Raph..."Michelangelo quietly whispered. Tears began to well up in his eyes, blurring the colorful page of the Silver Sentry even further. He really tired to believe that Raph wasn't--dead. But with every passing week, a heavy feeling of guilt pressed against him more and more. It was all his fault, he had caused Leo and Raph to fight; he was responsible for Raph's disappearance. Why had he chosen that evening to goof off during practice? He hadn't meant to start a fight; he'd just been trying to get Donnie and Raph to laugh during sparring practice. 'But look what I did' he thought guiltily.

It had been almost three weeks since that night. At week two, Michelangelo had stopped coming out of his room for anything but the bathroom. He hadn't eaten in a week, the thought of eating turned his stomach. He was glad his father and brothers had stopped trying to force him to eat, especially after he kept throwing up any of what they managed to force down his throat. Michelangelo slumped to his side with a small sob, the comic book sliding from his hands and onto the floor. He knew the guilt that he felt would consume him if he didn't do anything about it soon, but he reasoned, ' I deserve whatever happens to me, I killed my own brother.'

The light in Donatello's room was off, but the computer offered enough with the pale eerie glow from the monitor. Donatello sat at his workbench, half-heartedly fiddling with a new security system component. He tried to shake off the daze that had over taken him. Every minute that this new mechanism wasn't online with their system, they could be in danger. He couldn't help but feel responsible for Raph's disappearance; after all, it was his job to ensure that their home security system kept them all safe. He knew, even though his father and brothers didn't say it aloud, that it was his fault Raph was gone. In the first week of his disappearance, they had searched high and low for him. There had been no sign or sightings of him above ground. Donatello knew that the only logical conclusion must be that Raphael had never even made it out o the sewer tunnels, that something had snuck past his security systems, and Raph had paid the price for his incompetence. This new system had to be flawless, even if it took a weeks worth of lost sleep, he would finish this new system. Donatello hunched over the components and began to work with a new fervor. He refused to allow even one of his remaining brothers to pay for his mistakes once again.

It had been almost half a week since the life Buddy had known had changed so drastically. All he could remember was that his life had always consisted of that horrible laboratory. The lab...Buddy shuddered in thought and decided he would try and put all those memories away. He didn't want them or need them, and besides, they made him sick to his stomach. Or maybe that was just the feeling that one got when their diet was composed mainly of Italian food from the dumpster behind Mama Mia's! He rubbed his grumbling stomach. He wasn't complaining; he knew how lucky they were to find such a reliable food source so close to their new home. Buddy smiled as he kneeled down to straighten the blanket on their salvaged 'bed'.

"Home" he whispered softly. He didn't know if he had ever had a home before, or a family for that matter, but whether he had or hadn't, he was glad that he had one now.

When they had first landed, they had nothing. Now after less then a week, although it wasn't elaborate, they had a little something to call their own.

He remembered how on that first day, 15 and he had hidden away in an alley while 14 went off to explore possible places to live. They had spent most of the day people watching, whispering snide remarks about them to each other. When 14 suddenly reappeared, it had shocked 15 so much that she grabbed the nearest available thing and threw it at him. The nearest available thing had been a trashcan. In spite of his harsh welcoming, 14 had still been very excited, even giddy Buddy might have saidHe had found an abandoned building that, while most of the above ground portion of the building was unusable, the basement had stood the test of time. It was dry and, while being on the smallish side, it would do nicely. Not only that but he had also made two important discoveries; one was that when humans saw him, they would scream very shrilly, and two, about half a mile from the abandoned building was a city dump! At first Buddy had been confused as to why they were supposed to be excited about a dump. Then 15 had explained it to him that a dump meant that they could scavenge for things that they would need for their new home and life in general.

As soon as 14 had shown them their new home, 15 demanded that he show them where this dump was located. On the first day, she had brought back an old soiled mattress that had springs sticking out on one side. Then she went back and returned with a grungy, burnt-orange blanket for the mattress, both she was proud to exclaim came from the dump.

In fact, in that very moment, she was at the dump while 14 rummaged around for discarded items that he could repair. As he waited for them, Buddy sat on the bed and looked around at the blank walls and empty spaces. 'Soon' he thought with a smile 'all this space will be filled up, just like a home should be.'

Please R+R! smoochies!


	5. Chapter 5

I have had this chappy waiting to be published for...I dunno how many days, but a while now! Cheers!

15 woke up. Something felt off. She shifted her body trying to pinpoint the exact location of the disturbance within the room. Soon the problem became apparent. Buddy, who was sleeping at the foot of the bed, half on and half off, was huddled up, whimpering and calling out for someone in his sleep. 15 strained to hear the name he was calling out.

"Splinter..." he groaned out.

'Splinter? What an odd thing to call out for,' she mused. She was starting to grow worried about Buddy's mental health. In the past week, he hadn't gone an entire day without having a nightmare. 15 glanced at her other sleeping brother. 14 sure was lucky, he could sleep through an air raid siren. She, however, would wake up if even a bird flew by outside. Sighing, 15 slid down the mattress and gently tried to shake Buddy awake.

"Buddy, hey Buddy, it's only a dream." she murmured hoping to clam his restless sleep.

Buddy's eyes shot open, his eyes were clouded over with hate and fear, and they darted unseeingly around the room.15 realized that while his eyes were open, he was still very much asleep and dreaming. In his haze, his hands whipped out and grabbed 15 by her throat.

Blue stars started to pop up in front of her eyes, she realized that she needed to wake him up and soon if she didn't want to choke to death. Jackknifing her body to the side, she gave Buddy a swift kick in the face.

"Ooommmpphh!" Buddy's grip loosened around her throat, and instantly 15 started gulping in air and scooted just slightly out of reach of Buddy's trembling hands. 

"15?" he whispered softly," What just happened?" 15 silently contemplated telling him the truth, but decided that he probably didn't need to know, at least not right now. 

"You were having a nightmare, it was just a dream." she replied calmly," You can talk to me about it if you want." 

Tears began pooling up in Buddy's eyes as he was suddenly plunged back into his nightmare, "I dreamt," he began in a shaky voice," that it was the day they decided to cut my head open and see how my brain worked...I remember everything, because...I had to be awake..." he choked out in a small voice. His body started to tremble and shake, and his eyes stared hard on the wall behind 15's head.

'Uh-oh,' 15 thought, 'He's starting to slip back'. 15 shifted her body closer to Buddy's and propped herself up against the wall. She pulled him up against her plastron and cradled his shaking form.

"Shhh, it's OK now, it's OK..." she whispered soothingly while rocking him slowly back and forth. Buddy's tears began to subside as the comforting hum of 15's voice melded against him.

"Go back to sleep Buddy," she said quietly, as she stroked his head. 

"I can't sleep, 15, every time I close my eyes I'm back there again..."

15 sighed and leaned her head up against the wall. "Would you like to hear a story then?" she questioned softly.

"A story? You know stories," Buddy asked incredulously turning his head up to look at the tired face of 15.

"I don't know any stories, but you and 14 brought back a few picture books yesterday didn't you?" She answered never opening her eyes. 

"Picture Books? Oh! Those are called comic books, they're pretty good ones too, you know for being in the dump an all. There are only a few pages missing here and there," he said settling into her embrace.

"Then do you want to hear the story or not?" 15 questioned with more force, annoyance beginning to creep into her voice.

"Yes, please" Buddy replied meekly.

15 nodded her head towards the edge of the bed indicating that she wanted him to get up and get one. Smiling he brought the one that had the most pages back to the bed, she looked at him in mild anger, before sighing and patting the space he had recently vacated. Buddy crawled back into her lap and flipped over on to his shell, looking very much like an expectant child.

With an exaggerated sigh, 15 took up the abused comic book and started reading," OK... There was this guy, who lived in a big house, and he had a man-servant, but he wasn't happy..."

Buddy cut in, "What are you reading? That's not what it says."

"Really?" 15 mumbled, "That's the idea that I'm getting from the pictures..."15 mused back

"The pictures? Just read the words! Come one 15!" Buddy whined. 15 went silent for several minutes. Buddy turned to his side and began to prod her in the arm

"You OK?" he asked.

15 smiled sadly down at him, "If I could read the words, I would." 

Buddy looked back at the comic as 15's words rang thought his head. It had never occurred to him that 15 would be unable to read. 14 could read, in fact he was the one who found the comics down in the dumpster that they'd been digging through. The feeling of guilt slowly crept up his shell as he looked at 15's frustrated face. 

"It's OK," he said a little too quickly causing 15 to look down at him with a raised eye. "I'll read aloud to you," he offered, smiling a little in embarrassment. 15 stared at him with a slightly confused look before chuckling and handing the comic eagerly over to Buddy.

"There comes a time when the oppressed and desperate must be defended..."he began.

14 woke up slowly to the sensation of shifting mattress and two excited chattering voice. Mentally groaning, he cursed turtles who had the insane urge to be up before sundown. Rolling over he glared through blearily sleep-filled eyes at the two offenders. Grumbling in a low voice he ground out," What is this and why?

Giggling 15 flopped on top of him and began to tickle his sides.

"Guess what! Guess What!!" She managed to squeak out between giggles. Gasping for breath, 14 rolled away from 15's fingers with tears in his now wide-awake eyes. 

"What?" he asked playfully.

"We're gonna be Superheroes!" 15 and Buddy exclaimed in unison.

14 blankly looked back and forth between his too younger family members, and then asked in confusion, "Superheroes?"

"Yeah! Buddy, show him the comic!" 15 said excitedly.

Buddy climbed over 15 who pinched and stuck her tongue out at him. Looking down at her, Buddy grinned and flopped down hard across her stomach, causing her to squeal and thrash," Buddy! You're sooo fat!! Fatty!! Get offa meee! "she teased loudly.

14 rubbed his temples; it was much too early in the day to deal with this kind of energy. Sighing he rolled back over with his shell facing his rough housing siblings, and pulled the blanket up over his head, hoping to any merciful God above that they would both be stricken voiceless within the next minute.

"HEY! 14! You can't go back to sleep with out hearing the plan first!" 15 stated matter of factly.

'Oh, Life, why do you hate me?' 14 moaned while turning back around to face his brother and sister. "OK. You have 3 minutes."

"This is our plan," Buddy began holding the Batman comic book up so that 14 could see the first page," Actually, it was more of 15's plan but,"

"Get on with it..."14 moaned out. 

"OK, OK... geeze...You see, we don't have any purpose, we don't do anything but survive, and yes, that is a very important thing…but,"

This time it was 15 who cut in no longer able to contain herself and her excitement, "We could go and aid society, like the superhero in this book, he's just a normal guy too. No superpowers. We would be contributing instead of just living. Think about it; we could have the opportunity to save lives, instead place of destroy them!" her eyes shown with happiness with her last statement.

14 let their plan slowly wrap around his brain...' Really, it's not a bad idea..." Looking at 15's hopeful face he realized that even if it wasn't a very good idea, he would never deny 15. He knew that the many deaths of their victims weighed heavily on her heart and he was willing to let her do what she wished in order to achieve atonement.

Knowing he would probably regret it, he sighed and said," OK, we'll all be superheroes," loud cheers burst forth from both Buddy and 15's mouth, "except," he continued on ignoring his siblings outburst," Buddy can only be a side kick until we teach him how to fight, I don't want any of us getting hurt...or killed." 

There was silence on the opposite side of the bed, and then 15 started to cackle pointing at Buddy who was still lying across her she taunted him, "You have to be Robin!" 

Buddy began to pinch 15 just as she had done to him. She kicked out trying to dislodge him from his position. Soon a wrestling match began, 14 just rolled his eyes, and pulled the orange blanket up over his head once again. Maybe he could get in a few more hours of sleep before they went out 'hero-ing'. The tussle between Buddy and 15 began to get serious as they both rolled off the mattress, and he tried to get her in a headlock. Buddy almost had her in one when 15 bent her head down and bit him viciously on the arm.

"Damn it, Mikey!" Buddy roared, striking out at 15 with one arm, and pulling away his other.

Thwack! "AAAH!" 

Buddy's blow made solid contact with 15's eye. Scooting back with a hand over her right eye, 15 looked up in confusion at Buddy. He was still kneeling, looking at his fist. "I'm sorry, I...don't know what came over me...It was like I was another person." 

"You called me Mikey." 15 stated bluntly.

"Hey is every one ok down there?" 14 called out from on top of the bed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," 15 answered, "Buddy here just wigged out on me though, called me Mikey. Do I look like a Mikey?"

14 sat up, it seemed that he wasn't going to get anymore sleep today, looking thoughtfully at Buddy, he said," Mikey huh? You guys were having a mock fight and he called you Mikey? Hm-mm maybe this Mikey person is someone from before."

14 got off the bed and began to inspect 15's eye," This is a pretty good hit too. You know maybe you won't have to be a side-kick after all!" he began to laugh as he walked, to the corner where they stored all the non-perishable food they could find.

Digging through the pile he picked up a can of baby corn, and straightening up, he looked at it and said more to himself then to the others in the room, "Maybe there is more to you then even you know..." Whipping around he threw the can of corn at a blinding speed towards Buddy's head.

A sharp and resounding crack rang out through the little home as the can made contact with Buddy's forehead.

For a moment, Buddy kneeled on the round stunned, his mouth hanging open. Then came a deep breath and finally, "WWWAAAAAAAHHHHH! YOU HIT ME!" Buddy fell to the ground clutching his injured head.

14 shrugged his shoulders and, while opening a box of slightly stale Wheaties, he muttered," Or maybe not."

Please R&R!


	6. Chapter 6

Yawn, I have written 3 chapters today plus gone to school for the last 8 hourse...prasie me for I am gooood...

"OK, to be proper superheroes we have to have a disguise,"15 informed her brother, Buddy, who was paying rapt attention.

14 walked just a few paces ahead of them and glanced back in amusement. Disguises? She wanted then to have 'real' superhero disguise, as if there was someone who would guess their secret identities. 14 smiled as he drifted in and out of his thoughts. As silly as he thought the idea of Superhero-ing was, he knew it meant a lot to 15 and to Buddy. So, he had agreed to go to the dump with them just before the sun set that day, so that they could salvage disguises for themselves.

"Why do we have to have a disguise?" questioned Buddy.

15 sighed and held up the tattered copy of an old Batman comic, "See, they all wear disguises, I think it has something to do with intimidation. And stuff like that" she knowingly replied.

"Ohhhh...how are we gonna make disguises that look like theirs?" Buddy asked curiously.

15 glared at the page before finally saying," Our disguises won't look exactly like theirs, 'cause those are not the superheroes that we are going to be. We have to come up with different disguises."

15 looked around the dump and her eyes alighted on some old and dingy clothes, "There!" she yelled running over to the worn out shirts. Turning back to her brothers she called out," These are perfect!"

Buddy and 14 gave each other a look before jogging over to inspect 15's find. The shirts were dirty, worn, and made of green and red plaid. Definitely not what Buddy thought of when he thought of superheroes. But that fact seemed to have been dismissed by 15, as she was busy on the ground measuring out portions of the shirts, for what, though, Buddy didn't know.

14 watched in morbid fascination as 15 pulled out her phaser gun, and, after adjusting to low frequency, carefully cut the fabric into large diamond shapes. He was almost sure that when they emerged from the dump, they would all be sporting 'brand new' super-hero gear. He briefly thought about trying to fight the inevitable, but decided it was better to give in now, he had lived with 15 for over 15 years now; he was used to her eccentricities.

"Ha!" he laughed out-loud, causing Buddy to stare at him quizzically. 14 knew that Buddy probably had no clue what was about to happen to him.

15 smiled at her new creations, they were quite lovely if she did say so herself. Putting the phaser back into her pouch, she stood up and grinned at her brothers," It's all done!" she exclaimed proudly. Nimbly grabbing Buddy's head, she folded the cloth swiftly around his head and before he had a chance to get his bearing again, he was wearing a plaid mask that covered half of his face. Buddy looked disbelievingly at his oldest brother. 14 just smiled and shrugged as he bent his head down to make it easier for 15 to tie his mask around his head. Finishing 14's knot, 15 bent down to pick the last mask up and, grinning at her brothers, she deftly tied it around her own head.

As the two Brothers stood examining each other's new plaid accessories in the dim light of the dump,15 took a deep breath and said with a serious face, "Now that we have taken the oath to serve and protect humanity, it is our duty to go out and patrol for evil doers, to protect the weak, innocent, oppressed, and defenseless!" She then began to walk towards a hole in the dumps fence.

"Wait, I didn't taken any oath..."Buddy protested.

14 rolled his eyes, 'Ohhh, the boy would learn, it was simply easier to go with 15's flow than to try and find the logic behind it,' he thought ruefully.

15 turned around with a sharp look in her eyes," You put the mask on, that's as good as taking the oath!"

But you..." Buddy began, but 15 whipped around and gave him an evil glare that promised pain if he kept going down this path. "OK...I took the oath, and am now ready to go out and serve humanity!" he said with mild enthusiasm. 15 nodded her head satisfied for now with his response.

The trio moved swiftly across the street and into a near by alleyway. Once in the alley, they scaled up a ladder and hopped up onto the rooftop. The best place to patrol the city was from the rooftops, 14 vaguely remembered 15 chattering on about, because you can see everything that's going on around you on the ground and you can interfere in situations that look questionable.

The minute they began patrolling, Buddy could feel the auras of his siblings change drastically. They went from cheerful and easy going, to serious, and vigilante. Buddy felt that these two turtles had much more in common with the two turtles he met that first time in the Laboratory almost a month ago, than the two turtles he'd grown to love as his own family. Buddy tried to pay close attention to how they moved and how their bodies blended into the shadows. He found, to his great surprise, that mimicking these skills came to him so easily it was as if he had been doing it his entire life. He also found that his hand kept up a continuous twitch, as if it were searching for something to grasp. 'Maybe,' he thought, though he couldn't recall it if it had ever happened, 'The Lab that I was rescued from had been trying to train me, to be a soldier of some sort. It makes sense. After all 14 and 15 are living proof that the government is using our kind as sorta of super soldiers, didn't it?' he questioned himself.

14 made a motion that, for no other reason that Buddy could re-call, meant 'stop' and be 'quiet'. Pointing down into a dark alleyway below, Buddy looked down and saw what had made his siblings stop. Down in the alley were two men who looked very dubious in Buddy's opinion, but that wasn't why they had stopped. He could see that one of the men was armed and that they were obviously planning to do something evil. Buddy looked towards his sister for confirmation, but she simply made a motion that meant, 'wait'. Buddy nodded his head and smiled; he could wait.

The two men walked to the entrance of the alleyway, but stayed just far enough back, so that a passerby wouldn't be able to see them. What they were going to do suddenly dawned on Buddy and so he tensed and waited for them to make their move. It wasn't long before an unlucky businessman stepped out of a taxi cab in front of the alley. As the taxi pulled away from the curb, the man found himself yanked into the alleyway by the two nefarious men. They slammed him up against the dirty brick wall and began to make their demands.

"Give us all your money, Pops! Don't make me kill you!" the man with the gun yelled out, while pulling out his gun and aimed it shakily at the poor, unlucky man.

The man began to beg as took his wallet out of his pocket, "Please don't kill me! I've got a family, a wife and two kids! Please have mercy!"

The second man whipped a weapon out from inside his coat and brandished it at the whimpering man. "Is that all you have?" he questioned harshly. Buddy's attention was instantly drawn to the weapon of the man. There was something familiar about it that he just couldn't place.

The businessman sobbed out, "Yes, I don't carry more then $40 on me at a time!"

The man with the gun growled and said with a mocking voice," Then I guess today's your unlucky day, cause the toll to go free is at least $200!" with that he pressed the gun up against the sobbing man's forehead.

"Now!" hissed 15, jumping from the ledge, and landing squarely on the shoulder of the man holding the gun. The man crumpled to the ground with oomph! The second man stood shocked for a second before running at 15 with his sai.

"Not today you don't!" Buddy called as he flew from the rooftop and landed behind the sai-brandishing man. A feeling of deje vu came over Buddy as he grabbed the man and, with a well-placed kick to the head, rendered him unconscious. Buddy stared at the sai that was lying next to the unconscious man before tentatively reaching out and picking it up. As soon as his hand closed around the weapon, Buddy felt something inside him spark and his hands began automatically playing with the sai.

15 looked at him with surprise, "Did you always know how to do those fancy tricks or is that just osmosis?" she questioned sarcastically.

"I don't know, I just know how to use it...it's like it's a part of me..." Buddy whispered quietly while watching his hand twirl and spin the sai with ease.

Meanwhile 14 was busy helping the un-lucky businessman, now turned lucky businessman, to his feet. "Are you OK, sir?" he questioned. The man looked 14 up and down, then turned and looked at Buddy and 15, who were deeply enthralled with Buddy's sai-wielding hand before finally squeaking out," What are you guys?"

Hearing the man's question, 15 whipped around and smiled a toothy grin before announcing, "We are superheroes! The Terrific Trio in fact!"

Her brothers cringed at the name they'd been christened," And, sir, can we suggest something? Please call the police on your cellular phone before these thugs wake up!"

The man stared disbelievingly at the creatures before him, before slowly nodding and taking his phone out to make the call. Soon they heard sirens and the turtles, or as 15 would have them known by - The Terrific Trio, melted away into the early evening shadows.


	7. Chapter 7

Just a random question, but does anyone else have a problem with switching he h's and the a's around in a word when they are typing? I do it all the frickin' time, and was just wondering if anyone else did either...

'Going on patrol without Raph seems wrong somehow,' Michelangelo mused, 'it's like we're burying him.' Michelangelo jumped across the rooftop following his brothers. This whole thing made him feel guilty, disloyal to Raph's memory.

He remembered the fight that he and Leo had gotten into over tonight's patrol. "Leo please can't we just wait a few more days? Please?" Mike had begged.

"No. We've already been off patrol for a month now; breaks over Mikey. Besides, we have to learn to fight with new formations." Leo stopped talking when he glanced at Michelangelo's face, now frozen in anger. Mistaking it for sadness, though, he continued on," Don't you think that Raph would have wanted it this way?"

Leo's comment had been the proverbial straw that had broken the camel's back, or as in this case, the turtles shell. Michelangelo had run at Leo screaming, "Stop! Stop trying to bury him! It's only been a month!"

Leonardo had side stepped Michelangelo's wild blows, causing Michelangelo to fall to the floor. Looking up from his prone position, he had glared up Leonard and with angry tears falling down his face. He sobbed out, "How do we even know that he's gone for good? He could come back!"

Leonardo had tried to calm his weeping brother but Mikey slapped his hands away. Then, Michelangelo picked himself up off the ground and stormed into his room. He hadn't come out until his brother were suiting up for patrol. Silently he began to suit up alongside them, saying nothing to Leo or Donnie.

Now they were out here roaming the rooftops and alleyways of their beloved home, New York City. Michelangelo's stomach churned with nausea. He didn't know whether it was from guilt or the fact that he hadn't eaten in more then a few days. Shrugging his shoulders, Michelangelo tried to push that feeling away as he prepared to jump from one rooftop to another.

Noticing that Mikey was having a hard time, Leonardo stopped on their current rooftop, turning to Mikey he started in on him.

"You know Michelangelo it's your own fault that you're having such a tough time. If you had just been training like you were supposed to instead of holing up in your room, no doubt eating all sorts of junk, you'd be able to keep up with us."

"Leave me out of this." Donatello cut in blandly.

Leo continued,"...and if you think we're going to be having regular breaks, like we are now, you can forget about it. We are out here to train and we will train hard."

Michelangelo refused to look at Leo, but instead responded icily, "Whatever. I don't need your breaks..."

Leo snorted and then turned to continue the training run. Donatello looked at Mikey before shaking his head sadly and hurrying after Leonardo.

Michelangelo looked at his brothers' shells slowly running further and further away from him. It stung the way Leonardo had treated him, accusing him of using Raph's...absence, as an excuse to have fun and party. He shook his head, and went to the ledge. Looking out at the dark city, glittering with lights, he knew that he could just go back home, that no one would say anything to him. But the thought of something happening to his brothers while he stayed holed up in his room, crying...that thought made him decide to go on. Even if his stomach felt like it was going to crawl right out through his mouth any moment, he had to follow his brothers and protect those who needed it.

As stepped out onto the ledge, a fit nausea and dizziness suddenly overtook him. Shakily, he tried to step away from the building's edge. As he tried to place one foot back down on the roof, he suddenly convulsed and vomited. The motion was just enough to make him fall the other way, down to the alleyway below, instead of the rooftop.

With a resounding, crash, Michelangelo landed gracelessly into the open dumpster of Mama Mia's. Weakly struggling to try to lift himself out of the day-old spaghetti and calzones, he started coughing. Soon his cough became a barking dry heave. Gasping for breath between heaves, Michelangelo let out a panicked gasp before passing out amid the garbage and rotting Italian food.

Meanwhile, in the basement home of The Terrific Trio, 15 and Buddy were busy discussing his apparent skill with the sai.

"So what do you think?" Buddy asked proudly as he deftly maneuvered the sai between his three fingers and into his fist again.

15 looked up quizzically from the floor where she was studying beaten up comic books, "I think that you were being trained to become a weapon," she stated blandly before turning her brown eyes back down to an old Superman comic.

Buddy sighed dramatically," I meant what do you think of my skill with this dagger thing...and what do you mean trained as a weapon?" he questioned.

Without looking up from her comic book 15 replied," I mean just that, a weapon. See how skillfully you maneuver that dagger thing? Your mind can't remember anything, but your body has obviously been ingrained with skills that are use to kill people. Don't you think it was a little odd that you found it so easy to mimic our movements when we were on patrol for the first night? Somewhere inside of you, something went click, and turned on. I have a theory, that in that facility where we got from, you were being trained as weapon. You may have to face the fact, Buddy, that there is a possibility you never had a life outside of that facility; you could have been there for all your life."

Buddy set his sai down on the ground, looking towards 15 with troubled eyes. He asked quietly," But…then where would I have come from? I must have come from somewhere..."

Putting her comic book to the side and standing up, 15 stretched her green body out and said in reply," You probably came from the same place that I did."

Walking towards the stairs she called back at Buddy, who looked as if he was burning up with unanswered questions," Come on, 14 will be back with dinner in a little while, and this story is long..."


	8. Chapter 8

Buddy leaned over the edge of the old crumbling rooftop.

"Are you sure this is stable enough to hold up?" He questioned with great trepidation in his voice.

With a teasing smile, 15 hopped up on the ledge and sat down. Turning to look at Buddy, she said, "Don't worry, it's held up so far, and this old roof has probably never had anything as heavy as my fat shell on it before so, yeah I'm pretty sure it'll hold up!" To empathize her point, 15 stood up and started jumping up and down on the ledge.

"OK! OK! I get the point..." Buddy responded grumbling under his breath about stupid sisters. Hesitantly, Buddy placed his hands on the rough gray ledge and then lifted himself up next to the panting female.

15 looked briefly at before turning her head to look back out across the city. It was evening, the sun had set maybe an hour ago, but the ledge still retained some its heat. '_Oh, to be alive and free._' she thought wistfully. Still looking out at the concrete jungle, that they called their home, she asked quietly, "Do think 14 will be back soon?"

Buddy sighed impatiently and nodded his head. For a moment they were both completely still, and a comfortable silence enveloped them. Finally Buddy could stand waiting no longer; "You said you'd tell me your story, you haven't changed your mind, have you?" he burst out.

A heavy sigh resounded from 15, she looked down at the street and said morosely, "I was giving you a chance to back out, it isn't a happy story you know. In fact it's a very bad one; many people have been hurt or killed during my lifetime."

Buddy reached out and clasped 15's rough three fingered hand in his own. Squeezing it gently, he replied, "We're a family, right? Maybe we didn't grow up together, or have the same mother, or have anything in common except our species, but we're a family, and that means we support each other. I've leaned on you, now it's your turn to lean on me." Without letting her hand go, Buddy scooted close enough to 15 so that their bodies touched.

At first 15 tensed at the contact but then as if a damn inside her broke open, she shuddered and sagged heavily against Buddy's side. Buddy wrapped his arm around her shell in support. Taking a deep breath, she began her story.

"I was not born here, neither was 14. The place we came from," 15 stopped briefly a faraway look in her eyes, "It rained a lot; and there were three suns. My mother called them the three hearts of the world. I don't remember mothers face, only her voice, she used to sing to me. I had no father, he was dead, because of war—I think. I remember the War. It's because of the War that I am here. I was playing in the streets, I wasn't supposed to though, and I remember how worried and dark everything looked. I didn't understand why then, but I soon did. All of a sudden there were soldiers! Everywhere pouring in, but they weren't our soldiers, they were Quizrak ones! Everyone was screaming and running, people were falling down dead all around me, so I did what any child would do, I ran. I hid in the toilets...But they were searching everywhere for survivors, and they found me. I remember the soldier that discovered me how he pulled me up by my arm laughing the entire time, then they put me in a tent, it was filled with injured and dying people. I remember the stench, oh how it reeked of death and sickness. But I didn't stay there for long. Soon a Quizrak solider began to go through the captives and placing tags on them. And then I found myself, not a self anymore, but someone's property." 15's eyes, became shiny with un-shed tears.

"Those were hard years, I was very young but expected to do the work of someone twice my age and size. I remember getting beaten often. My master was a very bad man too, he had no pity for his slaves. But I did get fed every day, and somewhere to sleep. So I would have relented and became an obedient slave. Except—one day, my master took offense at one of the other slaves. Master had seen him resting, so he'd dragged him to the platform where our overseer normally stood, and was going to execute him, as an example. Master had called for me to bring, 'The Spike'. The Spike is a torture weapon, a long metal stick with a ball nodule and a long spike on the side; you used it to bludgeon someone to death. I couldn't be a part of that. I just couldn't. This wasn't just some faceless slave, this was someone that I knew--we'd dance together at ceremonies, laughed at the same jokes. We were part of the same tribe. And in that sense he was my brother. So instead of handing the spike over to my master, I killed him. I don't remember how I managed it. All I re-call is that I just kept swinging, and hitting at him, till finally he didn't move anymore. I remember with perfect clarity, how silent the entire factory had become when I did that...

"It was the first time I killed anything. After that I was sold back to a slave auction house—cheap. So was the boy slave whose life I had saved, but no one wants to buy a slave who kills its master, and no one wants a slave who's master was murdered because of it. Bad Luck Slaves, that's what we were called, not even our own race would buy us! Even our own race had turned on us..." She snorted bitterly and was silent for a moment so long, that seemed as if time had stopped.

Without warning, she began again, "So we waited there at the slave auctions for a long time. We were in a cell hold together; I killed any other slave if they attempted to split us. Then one day the trader brought in a pair of creatures that I had never seen before. Its skin was different shades of colors, black, gray, white, and it was baggy and loose. I remember staring at it wondering how their skin even stayed on them. And their feet had no toes, they were all together and a shiny black. I hated them the minute that they were brought to our cell; I hated how they poked and prodded at us, and how they asked questions about us, as if we weren't even there. One of them tried to inspect my teeth, and I would have bitten one of his fingers off too, if the Slaver hadn't have warned him in time. They bought us, right there and then. We were taken away in chains, I don't remember what happened after that, because I think I was drugged. But the next memory I have is waking up in the Complex. I was given to a Handler, who was supposed to train me to be the perfect soldier. Training was brutal, but I learned, and learned quickly. Sometimes, they'd do experiments on us, trying to recode our DNA, stuff like that. That's why they bought us to make us into weapons, and that's why Buddy, I think that you may have always been in that complex, just like 14 and I and spent almost our all our life at ours." 15 looked away at her last words, not wanting to face Buddy.

Buddy had a troubled look on his face. If 15 was right, then maybe he too was a victim of kidnapped as a child, looking towards 15 he asked, "Do you think that I am from your world?"

15 looked up surprised at his question, slowly she replied, "Yes, I do think you come from the same world as I do. How else you would have gotten here?"

Buddy nodded, "What was our world called? What are we called? Can you tell me anything these about our world?" He started to babbled eagerly.

15 put her hands up and started to laugh, "Whoa there, Buddy. That's a lot to ask of me. Remember I wasn't more then 7 when I was brought here. And it's been a long 15 years."

Buddy sighed exasperatedly, "Then just tell me one thing, what are we called?"

15's snout scrunched up in concentration and her eyes looked up in the effort to remember, finally she said slowly, "Glasocs, I think that's the name of our race."

"You think? You don't know the name of your own race?" Buddy teased while poking her in the side.

15 blew a raspberry before replying, "Why would I want to remember the name of the race that betrayed me, my brother, and you as well? As far as I am concerned they are not my race. Me, you 14, we are a race unto ourselves." She finished with a sad smile.

Becoming uncomfortable with the conversation 15 scooted away from Buddy and looked down the street expectantly. With forced cheeriness she began to exclaim, "Look! 14's back and he's--" She paused mid yell to stare hard at what 14 had slung over his back, "--not brought dinner!" She finally finished.

Hopping off the ledge she turned back towards Buddy and said excitedly, "Come on lets go see what 14's found!" With that, she ran off into the stairwell, Buddy closely following behind.


	9. Chapter 9

coughcoughcough I'm dying cause I keep forgetting how to breath. :p

As 14 walked down the broken dark stairwell, that led to his home. He was not surprised to see that his 'family' was already waiting eager to see who he had brought home. 'They look like baby birds.' he thought, amused at the comparison.

Pushing between the two excited turtles, he ignored all their questions and nonchalantly made his way to the bed with his hefty passenger. Turning to his side and letting the new turtle fall gracelessly onto the bed, he turned back around to his brother and sister, and cleared his throat before saying with a grin, "I have returned, my adoring subjects!" 

Buddy gave a rude snort, before giving his retort. "You wish, 15." Peering around 14, his eyes shot up in shock. 

Giving an incredulous look towards 15 said sarcastically, "15... Seriously, from now on 14 is not allowed to go on foraging runs with out one of us! Look at what he brought us for dinner!"

With a teasing smile, 15 also peered around 14 and looked at the figure of the passed out ninja Turtle on their bed. Crinkling her snout in mock disgust she shook her olive coloured head and turning to look at 14 in mock seriousness said, "Honestly, have we become so desperate for something other than Italian food that we're willing to become cannibals?!"

Rolling his eyes, 14 sat down next to the passed out ninja turtle, and patted his head. "Yup, that's exactly why I brought him here, to eat. In fact I found him in the dumpster, behind Mama Mia's." He said in a faux somber voice, he continued on, "You know, the people these days, they are just getting more and more wasteful! I mean look how much of this big guy that they just tossed out!" 

Unbeknownst to them, their 'dinner', had awoken around the same time he had been dumped on the bed. He'd been lying there feigning unconsciousness, and heard their entire conversion.

'Oh God! I have been captured by crazy people...They wanna eat me! OK Mikey, think, think...how many are there? OK. I think there are only three of them, I can take three...' Mikey tensed his muscles ready to spring up for action when the time was right. Feeling the bed he was on shift with weight he relaxed once more and tried to listen to the conversation.

15 kneeled on the bed and leaned over the body of the ninja turtle, poking at his arms and sides. She concluded her inspection by saying, "He looks likes he's been having a hard time getting food, the poor guy. See you how loose his skin is here?" She grabbed the skin on his shoulder, "Usually, when people have lost a lot of weight in a small amount of time, their skin gets all baggy like this."

Buddy shook his head and frowned, for some reason, this oddly apparelled turtle was giving him a feeling of intense deja vu. Something in the back of his mind prickled. Looking at his brother 14, he asked, "Do you think he is from the same place that I'm from?"

14 shrugged his shoulders and reached over 15 to grasp Buddy's shoulder, smiling gently he said, "I don't know, but if that's the case, then don't worry, we'll kill him before he's ever able to get anything back to H.Q."

Buddy reached out to touch the orange bandanna that covered the turtles eyes. He had to admit that this strange turtles choice in headgear disguises seemed much better then what 15 forced them to wear during patrols. As his fingers made contact with the turtles bandanna, a hand whipped up and grabbed his before he could do anything else. Buddy gasped as the turtle turned eyes full of fear and rage at him, then all of those emotions turned to shock. Buddy ripped his hand out of the grasp of the stunned turtle, and clutched his head in agony. Jumbled memories flashed painfully before his eyes, other turtles, not his current family, names, a place, underground maybe.

The turtle on the bed tried to reach out and grasp his arm as he pulled away, yelling Buddy fell from the bed, and instantly 14 was there trying to talk him through what ever was happening, "Bro! Bro! Buddy? Come on Buddy it's OK, we're here Bro."

The turtle on the bed tried to get up but was stopped by a menacing looking 15, she growled out at him," I don't know who you are, but you've hurt my little Brother, and you'll pay for that." She kicked her leg up at his plastron and slammed him back down on the bed. She was about to begin mauling the weakened turtle when 14 destracted her to a more important thing.

"15! There's no time for that, just help me with Buddy!"

Glaring down at the pinned ninja turtle she said, "You stay here and do not move." Getting off of him, she went to aid her brothers on the floor.

Not knowing what to do with him she tried the techniques that she had been using for his nightmares. Grabbing Buddy's head she forced him to look into her eyes, "Buddy, clam down. It was just a dream Buddy. Nothing else." At first his body trembled and tears began to pool unwillingly in his eyes. Then his body went slack, and his eyes closed.

The turtle on the bed shifted and asked in a small voice, "Whats happened to him?" 

With a vicious glare 15 looked up from her place on the floor holding Buddy's head, and said harshly, "Don't you dare ask what's wrong with him, I know you caused it somehow! Don't think I haven't forgotten about killing you!"

Buddy shifted in her arms and groaned out lightly, "No, please, 15 don't." turning his head to look at the anxious turtle on the bed Buddy looked hard at him before taking a deep breath and with a questioning whisper asked, "Leo?"


	10. Chapter 10

How old would you _be_ if you didn't know how old you _are_?  
-Satchel Paige

BTW: This up-date is dedicated to Eridani23 cause they reveiwed! And that made me so happy!

-

"What?" Michelangelo replied disbelievingly from the bed.

Buddy turned over and began to get up with help from 15, and once he was standing, he looked at Michelangelo again.

"Were you sent here from the base complex? Because if you are, I will not go back peacefully." He said in a dark, serious voice.

"Base Complex?" Michelangelo parroted back in confusion. '_Is he messing with me, is this a joke?_' he wondered fearfully.

Slowly Michelangleo rose from the bed and smiled tenuously at Buddy before letting out a small and nervous laugh, "I get it, ok... Hahahaha," he said weakly, "You were angry at us, so you left us and came here, and now you're playing a joke on me...But seriously Rapheal, it's not a funny." Michelangelo's eyes were shining with fearful tears when he finished speaking.

And oppressive silence hung heavy in the room, finally 15 spoke up in a quiet, but angry voice, "I don't know who you are, but I don't trust you. My brother hadn't had an attack that bad since we first got him from the complex." She hissed out.

A word spoken by the female turtle piqued Michelangelo's interest, "Brother?" he whispered studying Rapheal once more. Could he be mistaken? '_Probably_', he thought, '_But how many mutant turtle are there running around New York City, he is Raph. I know it!_'

Buddy spoke up breaking Michelangelo's train of thought, "Yes, Brother. This is my family, 14, my older brother, and 15, my older sister." He hesitated before he continued on, "Look, I don't want to offend you and I know we all kind of started off on the wrong foot, but the fact is, is that you were found in a dumpster. And you do look pretty worse for the wear right now...jeez, what I'm trin' to say is if ya need help here we are," he finally spit out, a hint of brooklyn accent seeping into his speech.

"Volunteer us why don'tcha, Buddy?" 15 snorted looking a little put out. "We don't know jack about this guy and you're just inviting him in? He caused you to have an episode, a really bad one, and you're willing to trust him after that?"

14 cleared his throat and added in, "She's got a point little bro, we don't know where he came from, it would be awful naive of us to accept with out questioning him." 14 tried his best to keep a fight from breaking out between his overly excited sister and twitchy younger brother.

A weak and nervous laugh broke through their bickering, "Ahaahaa...I think I get it, this is a joke right? ...But seriously Rapheal, cut it out."

The Turtle Trio paused in their debate over Michelangelo's trustworthiness. 15 looked at the stranger with curious eyes, but said in a firm voice, "His name is Buddy."

Shaking Michelangelo peered over at them and began to sob, "No, it's Raphael. IT'S RAPHAEL!" He half fell back onto the bed crying out, withering around as if his demons were eating him alive.

Watching Michelangelo's fit, 15 shook her head and looked at her brothers, "Jeez...You know the way this guy is acting I don't think we'll really have to worry about him for to long, I bet he'll commit suicide within the hour!"

"15!" 14 and Buddy scolded in unison.

"What?" She said making a face in their direction, "I was only making an observation... Just look at him!"

Clucking his tongue at her, Buddy moved over to clam the fitful stranger, "I don't think this turtle is going to be much of a threat 15, look at the physical shape he is in, and right now he is obviously suffering from some kind of mentally trauma..." Buddy sat on the bed and attempted to quiet the thrashing turtle down.

"There, there, it's OK guy. We won't kill you." He said soothingly, looking pointedly at 15.

The Michelangelo froze and looked up in to the face of his dead, but not dead, brother, but not brother. Tears welled up in his eyes as he gazed up at him. In one sudden movement he threw himself up against Buddy's Plastron, and sobbed loudly, in both relief and uncertainty.

Looking up at his siblings with wide eyes, 14 shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 15 simply cocked her head and smiled. The strange turtle's sobs began to rescind, and Buddy who was still being used as a security blanket asked hesitantly, "You... ah, gotta name?"

The turtle abruptly stopped sobbing and stared up in disbelief at Buddy. "You know my name, Raph, please don't act like this it scares me..." He whimpered.

Raising an eye ridge at the turtle, Buddy shook his head, "That's the second time you've called me that, my name is Buddy. And in all honesty—I don't know your name, I don't know you."

Michelangelo gasped, and pulled back angrily looking at 14 and 15. "What have you done to him?" He demanded.

"Done?" 14 asked, "We've done nothing to him."

"Lairs!" Michelangelo jumped up and dove blindly at 14. Catching 14 off guard, they rolled around brashly, Michelangelo throwing blind half hearted punches at 14. Not knowing quite what to think of this unpredicted attack 14 tried to gain a hold on the crazy turtle. As 14 grappled for a hold on Michelangelo, 15 snuck around the pair and balling her fists up tightly, she brought them down upon the back of the aggressors' neck. Instantly he went slack and laid heavily atop 14, tears dribbling down his face.

"What did you do to my brother?" De moaned looking into the eyes of 14 below him.

Pushing him off, 14 stood up and looked down in pity at the turtle, "We did nothing to him, I'm sorry, but you must be mistaken. We would never harm our baby brother intentionally." He said in a soft voice while bending down to look the stranger in the eyes.

Michelangelo realized with a start that this turtle really believed with conviction, in all he was telling him. 'Baby Brother?...' he wondered looking towards Raphael.

"I think you are the ones who are mistaken, that turtles over there," Michelangelo said in a soft voice, while pointing over at the disturbed looking Buddy, "is my older brother, Raphael. He disappeared a month ago, we thought he was dead."

Standing up and walking over to the weakened turtle Buddy held out a hand to help him up, as Michelangelo grasped it he said, "You look familiar, like maybe I've seen you before, but I'm not your brother. They," he gestured at 15 and 14 , "are my family, the only family I can remember, the only family I've ever known. If I really am your brother like you say, then you will respect that."

Noticing the crestfallen look on the turtles face, 15 interjected, "But if you don't have a family now either, then you can be part of our—as long as you don't wig out on us again..."

Michelangelo looked blankly at Buddy before slowly asking, "You don't want to part of our family anymore?"

"Our?" 14 inquired curiously.

Looking over at 14 as if he'd seen him for the first time Michelangelo slowly replied, "Our--our brothers, and Father." looking back at Buddy he plead in a small voice," Please Raph, I know you got really angry at us, but things have changed, and everything is fallen apart since you left! Please don't leave me."

"My name is Buddy, not Raphael," Buddy firmly replied.

"Buddy then!" Michelangelo cried desperately, the panic seeping back into his voice," please just come home. We'll call you whatever you want, just come home--don't leave us."

"OK. just don't freak out again. Would it make you happy if we ALL went to inspect this other so called 'family' of Buddy's?" 15 offered her voice sharp and begining to sound dangerous.

She didn't trust this overly emotional stranger, turtle or not. She briefly considered that maybe--just maybe This Stranger was telling the truth and Buddy was actually Raphael, she cracked a smile at that thought, Raphael now that was a funny name...She stared intently at the distruat turtle, Buddy had a point, he didn't look like he would be any threat, but she knew better then to assume. She'd been through too much, to blindly take anything for granted. He may say he knows Buddy, but how do they know he is telling the turth? Buddy certainly wouldn't! For goodness sake, he could barley re-call what had taken place the majority of his imprisonment at Area 51.

"Yes!" Michelangelocried breaking 15 from her train of thought," You all can come, we just need you back...Buddy."

"So where exactly is your home located, uh... what's your name?" 14 asked realizing for the first time that they had never bothered to learn the Turtle's name.

"Michelangelo, but my brothers call me Mikey. And it's down, underground...kinda of." Micheangelo replied looking slightly nervous.

Buddy glanced over at his siblings gaurded faces before deciding to taking charge,"Well, then I think we better get there before the night is through then," he replied firmly.

Bottom of Form 1


	11. Chapter 11

Michelangelo's feet padded softly on the wet floor of the sewer drain. Guilt churned inside his belly like bad milk. He glanced nervously back at the three turtles following him. He briefly focused his gaze on his brother, '_Is it possible that Raph really doesn't remember anything about our family?_' Turning his head back to stare down the dark tunnels, Michelangelo pushed that idea away from his mind. No. Raphael... he liked to tease, so he must be teasing him. Soon, Michelangelo was sure he'd hear the familiar sound of a rough Brooklyn voice coming from his brother's mouth, instead of that polite and quiet one. He was sure any minute now, his brother would start to laugh in that too loud, obnoxious way—the way he laughed just to annoy Leo—and, then he'd embrace him and call him Mikey—not, Michelangelo. It would happen, Michelangelo was sure of it, any minute now.

15 was bringing up the rear of their little house warming expedition. She wanted to be back there, just incase. She could see 14's smirk as he occasionally looked back at her and Buddy to check on them. She knew it amused him to no end that she always insisted on being in the back of a group. He laughed it off as eccentric, and she said nothing otherwise. But the truth was, she followed at the back because she was afraid. Afraid that if something should happen to one of someone's that she loved. She'd forget what they looked like. So she walked in the shadows of her two brothers, and memorized their movements, she didn't want to forget anything. The small tendril of fear that wrapped itself around her brain kept whispering all the terrible possibilities in her ears. What if Buddy leaves us, for these guys? What if this is a trap? What if I lose one of them? The last thought scared her the most; she's lost almost everything in the gamble of life. She would rather die then lose her family. 15 surveyed the dark and dripping tunnels, if this was indeed a trap, then she would be the first one to sound the alarm.

"Leo, I think we should go back home, just to make sure Mikey got there ok." Donatello ventured to say. Not a single word had passed between the two brothers since Leonardo's harsh verbal beating of Michelangelo.

If Leonardo had heard his worried brother's suggestion, he didn't show it. He didn't even turn to look at his brother. He only continued to stare out at the great concrete jungle, where somewhere he knew someone knew something about his missing brother, Raphael. His fist tightened, and he sneaked a look at his anxious brother. Finally he replied in a voice that though he tried to make it sound steady, shook, "Hey, Mikey's a Big Boy, and I gave him his choices; he chose. He doesn't need us to go around and baby-sit him."

The minute it was out of his mouth an overwhelming guilt flooded up inside Leonardo's plastron, _'Isn't_ _that what you kept telling yourself the first few days that Raph was gone?_' a sick little voice whispered to him. '_Didn't learn your lesson the first time huh? Well I'm sure you can learn it the second time around, or maybe thrid. You wanna see if your baby brother, is avliable to help you finally understand this lesson?'_

Leo abruptly spun on his heel and started off quickly in the direction of home. As he sped away Donatello heard him say in a quiet voice, "Please, not again."

"Here we are," Michelangelo tentatively looked at Buddy," Home sweet home."

15 and 14 allowed there eyes to dart quickly around the room in search of any possible traps, or dangers. Seeing none, 14 relaxed enormously and looked at Michelangelo with a smile, "Quite a place you got here," he looked at his siblings and in a teasing voice continued on," Betcha you don't have to all sleep in the same bed as your frog legged little sister and brother huh?"

"Hey!" 15 retorted in a mock angry voice," Most of that kicking is Buddy, I think he dreams of being a racehorse, cause boy do his legs move!" She glanced over at her younger Brother, and gave him a cheeky wink. "So is that what you dream?" she asked with a slightly smile.

Buddy stayed silent, as he stared intently at the room around him. 

"Buddy?" 15 prodded gently as Michelangelo watched on with the growing hope that something was clicking in Raphael's mind.

It seemed familiar, Buddy was sure this place was in his dreams before, but then he could be wrong. The details he did remember were only vague shadows of the specters that haunted his days. And he spent most of his nights in the attempt to forget them. 

"BUDDY!" 15 yelled impatience and a hint of fear creeping into her voice. She raised her slender green hand to slap Buddy out of his trance, when he suddenly came back.

"What? I'm sorry 15, I didn't hear you. What did you say?" He asked in a slightly dazed voice.

Michelangelo looked at his brother with concern, something was terribly wrong with him, but what ever it was Michelangelo was confident that once every one came back home, everything would get better--get solved,. Raphael had returned home, it had to get better.

"Do you need to sit down?" Michelangelo asked motioning towards the old brown and beaten in leather couch. "I could get you some water, and maybe some food! I think we still have some of your favorite beer!! Go sit down!" he said excitedly, while hurriedly going into the kitchen.

'I have a favorite beer?' Buddy wonderfed briefly,' I don't even like the smell of the winos we find in the alleies though!'

15 looked at 14 and he gave a small nod and followed the giddy turtle. They couldn't be too trusting of Michlangelo just yet. Walking swiftly to the broken down couch 15 sat down and patted the seat next to her indicating that she wanted Buddy to sit next to her. With a small sigh he sat down and stared at the rough walls, his eyes were inexplicably drawn to the TV and DVD collection that these turtles seemed to have. Just as he was contemplating getting up and going to look at the titles, 15 sagged heavily against him and sighed loudly. Feeling mildly concerned, he gently asked," Something wrong 15?" 

He was utterly surprised to see that when she looked up at him there were tears shining in her golden eyes and threatening to brim over and spill on to her smooth green reptilian skin. He put his arm around her and began to rock slowly side to side, "Whats wrong?" he asked again.

A voice, quiet and husky from the effort to restain the tears threatening to pour over onto her cheeks replied," Are you gonna leave us for them?" Again Buddy felt the emotion of shock course through him, he hadn't even contemplated that. Sure he felt that was something familiar about that Michelangelo guy, but he wouldn't, couldn't leave his family to go and find out what that something was. They had been his family, for as long as he could remember clearly, and granted that wasn't very long, but still. The fact that they had risked their lives, and been brave enough to start new ones with him, as their brother...he wouldn't and didn't want to throw that in their faces. No, it was decided then, he would stick with his family, regardless of what these other turtles had to say. They were not his family.


	12. Chapter 12

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. James Madison, speech, Virginia Convention, 1788

-

As Buddy and 15 were each busy mulling over their future in the 'living room', a fiendish partially domesticated nocturnal carnivore named Klunk spotted him on the couch. Realizing that his favorite prey had come back to his lair after a long absence, Klunk got straight down to business.

"Arrghh!" Buddy jumped up and began to do a sort of awkward hop shuffle dance. One that involved throwing his leg out and shaking it, in the attempt to remove the orange feline/monster that had embedded its teeth and claws into his vulnerable leg.

15 sat unmoving on the couch taking in the scene of her younger brother being accosted by an animal that wasn't even half his size, and losing. She didn't know whether to fall in to hysterics over that fact, or give a hand by removing the feisty feline. Deciding that it was in her best interest to not get her leg eaten by this semi-attack cat, she opted instead to call for reinforcements.

"Ah, 14, and Michelangelo! You'd better come and--help me assess this situation." The two Turtles hurried out of the kitchen, their pace spurred on by Buddy's shrill screams of pain. As they got to the living room area, and saw what the apparent problem was, it was all they could do not to fall down laughing at Buddy's situation.

"Klunk, come here boy. That's a good Klunk, please stop eating Ra--Buddy's leg." Michelangelo began to coo softly at the frenzied animal. 

Surprisingly Klunk took one look at Michelangelo, and released Buddy's tattered leg. Klunk preferred to be in the company of his favorite pet, and this one just wasn't playing their game right. Besides his favorite pet smelled like good food, and with any luck he could get an extra dinner in tonight. Klunk walked haughtily away from the moaning Raphael, and straight into Michelangelo's arms. 

"Didn't tell us you had an attack animal," 15 said the laughter in her voice barely being contained.

Michelangelo sheepishly dropped his cat to the floor and looked over at her teasing face, his face flamed red, "Well, he usually doesn't act like that, I mean he usually goes after Raph but not like that." He managed to mumble out.

Michelangelo's attempt to apologize for his cat was interrupted by the sound of a cane hitting the floor. 

"Who's here besides us?" 14 asked politely, a hint of something darker beginning to seep into his voice.

"If this is a trap, you know what will happen to you right?" 15 added while wearing a slightly crazed smile.

Michelangelo opened his mouth to protest his innocence, when an old and brittle voice broke in, "My Son, you have returned."

Stepping out of one of the lair's darkened hallways, there came an old brown rat. 15's eye narrowed slightly in her assessment of this new being. Was it a danger, does it have any weapons? After careful consideration, she gave a slight nod to 14 and Buddy, this guy was currently not a threat. In that moment Michelangelo cried out a word that 14 and 15 had come to despise to the very core of their beings. 

"Master!"

As soon as the word was uttered, they both became extremely alert. _'Maybe this guy doesn't look like he could do any damage, but it's obvious when he keeps such sturdy slaves under control there has got to be more to him._' 15 thought, the hatred that usually bubbled up inside of her only in the heat of battle, belonging to surge and pull inside her. She wanted to kill this Master. She threw a questioning glance, over at 14, who shook his head slightly.

'_No, it wouldn't do to kill him outright, not jut yet anyway._' He thought, while suspiciously watching the old rat make his way slowly over to where they were grouped.

Buddy, who was obvious to his siblings internal struggles, remained where he was on the floor rubbing his battered leg. '_Damn this hurts_.' he moaned silently. '_Damn cat, just wait animal, one day when you're sleeping, and I have a pot of icy water... just you wait._' He was so involved in his plans of revenge that he didn't even notice when the old rat came to a stop in front of him and seemingly collapsed on him.

"Huh!" Buddy said startled from his thoughts, '_Why is this old guy, hugging me? And why is he crying?_' he thought looking at the old rat with questioning gaze.

"Hey! Get away from him, Bisnok slaver!" 14 yelled fear for his younger brother clearly evident in his voice. "You don't own him you beast!"

15 took that outburst as a sign from 14 and swiftly came down upon the old rat. Seizing him by the scruff of his neck she made to slam him into the wall, and rid the world of slaver.

"Stop!" Michelangelo burst out leaping in between the wall and his father. "Uuummpphh!" the impact of Splinter's body and the force of 15's thrust caused Michelangelo to fall to the ground protectively clutching his Father.

15 sneered at the two figures who both struggled weakly on the floor, and hoisted her younger brother up by one of his arms. Looking down at them she growled out in a dark and angry voice, "You'd actually protect what enslaves you? Then you deserve to be a slave!" she punctuated her anger by spitting at the feet of the confused air on the ground. As she turned around to begin ushering an equally confused Buddy to the door, seeing his brother once again leaving him an unfathomable terror rose up inside o Michelangelo.

"No! Wait, please, don't leave!" He screamed out, as he scrambled towards the trio not even bothering to stand up on his two legs. Stepping in between Buddy and the erratically behaving turtle named Michelangelo. He looked hard first at him and then at the doleful looking old rat who had to lean against a wall in order to get up from the ground.

He shook his head bitterly, "We cannot 'wait' here, not in the house of a slaver." He said softly. With those soft words he turned to meet his waiting siblings at the door.

"Slaver?" Splinter murmured softly, the actions of the strangers and his son perturbed him. Why had his son acted as if he was a stranger? He knew that his boisterous son wasn't one to give into public affection very much, but still, he had never acted so thoroughly shocked when his father hugged him before. It almost felt as if he was hugging a stranger. And what of these other Turtles, Splinter had been very surprised to see them, but his joy of having his prodigal son back was greater then his current curiosity.

"Raphael, do not leave." Splinter called out to Buddy. For some reason, the old rat's commanding voice irked something deep inside him, and he couldn't help turning around angrily to look at the old rat who had thought himself familiar enough with him to give an order.

'_Who does that old coot think he is? First he molested me, and now he is bossing me around?_' Buddy thought angrily, a voice inside of him rebelling against the very sight of the old Rat. Buddy's face turned into a dark scowl that was all too familiar to Michelangelo and Splinter, and opened his mouth to retort sharply back to the old Rat. 

Suddenly a sharp gasp sounded from behind him, as he spun around to see face the owner of that gasp he was aware of his brother and sister striking out in unison and slamming two very shocked turtles against the sides of the door frame.

As Buddy looked at the two Turtles, a sense of familiarity well-up inside of him for the second time that day. There was a flash of light before his eyes and then, suddenly he was no longer in their lair anymore. He was in the lab, a profound dread over took him as his eye bore holes into the ceiling of the sterilized operating room, hearing the medical jargon flying around him. What does that mean, why was he strapped down? Why couldn't he talk? What was going on? '_No, please don't, what are you going to do with my head? No! No!_'

15 and 14 dropped the two new turtles to the floor, seemingly forgotten in their haste to control the seizing fit that Buddy had gone into a few seconds prior. 15 grabbed his shoulders and tried to hold his thrashing body still as 14 attempted to still his kicking legs.

"This is bad one 14," 15 said darkly not looking up from Buddy's face, which was twitching in agony.

14 made no response except to sigh heavily and lean more of his body against Buddy's contorted form.

The four Brothers, and their Father watched on in studied unease. They had Raphael back, but at this rate, for how long?


	13. Chapter 13

The next chapter is super long, so please bare with me!.

Dedicated to: Shadow Vision

XXXXXXXXXX

"I don't like this." 15 murmured as she glanced with narrowed eyes at the doorway that was partially open. "I don't think we should stay here any longer."

14 only half heard his worried sister. He was focusing more on the fact that his younger bother hadn't woken up from his latest attack yet. He was still unconscious, his skin was shades lighter then it should be. He had gone from a dark, healthy forest green, to a pasty yellow-green. He was sweating bullets, and 14 could tell that though he was unconscious, he was not at rest. His eyes moved rapidly under his lids, as if he were trying to track the movements of a hidden foe.

14 sighed and turned his eyes to look at his unhappy sister. She was still complaining? Couldn't she understand that he didn't want to stay here any longer then necessary either, but he couldn't risk possibly injuring Buddy. Unlike 15, he hadn't just skimmed the files on him in Area 51. He knew exactly what procedures had been done to Buddy, down to the last three weeks of his imprisonment. He knew what procedure was the most likely source of Buddy's seizures, but what could he do about it? He wasn't a surgeon or doctor in any sense of the word. Especially the kind of surgery he suspected that might require. What disturbed him more though, was Buddy's lack of files and paperwork past the four weeks he had read. It was as if, they'd only just begun experimenting on him, or as if he hadn't been there before, a cruel voice whispered in the back of his mind.

The nagging voice continued, or just maybe those other turtles are telling the truth. A feeling that he couldn't recognize, but none the less found uncomfortable formed in side his stomach.

'_They could be telling the truth, it is possible._' He decided, '_but for whatever reason, that thought doesn't give me any comfort._' Though 14 didn't want to think about it, he didn't want think about that possibility because it meant that he might possibly lose his newly acquired baby brother. And that made him feel uncontrollably sad.

"We need answers, and these Turtles might know something," He stated bluntly, ignoring 15's constant yammering.

"Or they might just lie to us, and then where will we be?"15 retorted sharply,as she glanced down at Buddy her concern for him growing.

"We don't have too much of a choice right now 15, they said they know him. And if they're telling the truth then we're not enemies. And if they're lying, then we—Buddy is screwed." 14 responded back, the raw anger at his helpless situation showing in his voice.

15 looked away, she knew better then to respond back to 14 when he spoke like that, she knew he was close to a breaking point. She carefully crawled to the middle of the bed which Buddy was currently in, and laid against him. She began to stroke his head fondly, as 14 watched he felt guilt welling up side him. He shouldn't have spoken so harshly to her like that, she was just offering advice that years of living as a slave had steadily beaten into her.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but 15's small voice came first, "You can go out there are get all the information you want. I'm staying here with Buddy. I don't want him to wake up alone."

14 slowly nodded, he knew he was being dismissed. He'd made 15 angry, and now she wouldn't acknowledge him for the at least the next few hours. That was ok; he knew that her anger could never last. He walked to the doorway and before stepping out into the darkened hallway, and towards the dim lights of the living room, where he knew the other Turtles and their Slave driver, a thing that he despised, but for the moment would tolerate, would be waiting for one of his party to come out of them room with news of Buddy.

As 14 emerged from a hallway into a main room that had a dome top, the room looked as if it served every purpose, from living room, to weight room, if the set of dumbbells in one corner were any indication. They obviously have electricity down here, as 14 glanced around the room. _'It's funny, though, how it still feels dim despite the lights,_' he thought, as he made a bee line for the area that served as a living room.

14 was greeted by four sad and worried faces that glanced at him anxiously searching for an indication of the news he carried about Buddy's welling being.

Splinter was the first to speak, "Please sit here," he rasped softly, waving his hand at a seat at the end of the couch that was already occupied by his other three sons. 14 sat down in silence, the quiet sound of leather rubbing against shell, and reptilian skin, was made loud in the nearly overpowering hush that filled the room.

"He's alive."

"What's wrong with—"

Both Donatello and 14 stopped talked at looked at each other. Donatello smiled sheepishly at 14, gesturing him to continue.

"Like I was saying, Buddy will be fine, he's taken far worse abuse before, I'm sure."

Leonardo spoke up, hesitantly, not knowing if the strangers answer was really something he wanted to know, "What exactly has happened to him?"

14 said nothing in reply; he only turned and studied Leonardo's form through slitted eyes. Finally he spoke, "I want to know more about you and how you supposedly know my brother first. If I think you're telling the truth, and then I will share our story, if not," he shrugged, with practiced aplomb, "Then I will kill you all."

A stunned hush fell over the family as the strangers' blunt statement sunk in, Master Splinter finally broke the stillness, "Very well, I will tell you our story, and though I assure you it is all true. You can be the judge of it in the end."

14 smiled a tight and business like smile that clearly told the old Rat to move it along.

"Our Story begins 25 years ago..." Mater Splinter began.

**

* * *

**

14 sat on the couch; lost in his thoughts, as he tried to come to grips with everything he'd just been told. Then Michelangelo had been telling the truth all along. It all made sense now. Why he hadn't been able to find any prior records on Buddy. Why he had seemed to Master the weapon he'd picked off the mugger a while back. Why he was so at home in the shadows with them. He hadn't been just an exceptionally good student, and nor had he been a solder in the making like 15 had been hypothesizing. He'd been training as a ninja for almost all his life.

A ninja—with his brothers, and father—his family. A family that had very obviously been shattered by his absence. 14 knew first hand what having your family torn apart felt like. He'd felt it the day he'd been sold away from his own large family, he could still remember how his father had begged. He'd never heard his father beg before. He hadn't begged when the money was due on the house and they couldn't pay it. He hadn't begged when they need food, but there was none to be found. But he had begged for his youngest son to be spared a slaves life. Begged that he be killed instead. He'd begged up until the moment, when the guards finally finished beating him, and his head looked like a kicked in pumpkin. Then he died. It had made a lasting impression on Delashe's youngest son, who would carry that image inside him, playing it over and over again inside his mind, like a mantra. '_This is what family is, this is how far you should be willing to go for each other. If you must bare the wrath and pain of others, for the sake of your family, then that is what must happen._'

The mantra pounded like a war drum in his head, and the image flooded his sight. He was back once again, in that dark, but light, dusty but moist place, that he'd once called home. He could see the beaten corpse that had once been his father, laying a pool of his own dark red blood, his head was split open and everything that had once been tightly secured inside had come tumbling out to spill across the berry colored earth and greet the suns' light in a way it was never meant to. He looked down at himself and realized hat he was covered in his father's blood. His father's ultimate sacrifice, his own blood, his own life, in exchange for his son's. Though it was in vain, 14 would not allow his Father's lesson in sacrifice go unlearned. No, he would follow through, and make a sacrifice that would hurt him and 15; he knew what needed too be done.

"He must stay here." As the words rolled off his tongue a sick feeling of flared up inside him, and an angry gasp sounded from the hallway.

"So, that's just it huh?" An irate 15 walked out slowly, supporting Buddy, who was glaring at 14 as he limped alongside 15.

15 continued, "What are you just tired of Buddy, decided that he was just one too many mouths to feed? You gonna dump me off next? Is that the way it's working now? Or maybe you just forgot that Buddy is a capable Turtle and can speak for himself huh? Was that it?"

"Look 15 you don't know—"14 tried to defend himself against the onslaught of verbal bullets that were being flung against him but found he could not block them. He had forgotten all about Buddy's own opinion in this matter. He'd only been stuck on his own past.

"Please, please be calm my children. There is no need to get so agitated. The questions is, what does Raph—" Master Splinter faltered remembering Michelangelo's warning about his son's new name,"—Buddy think about this?"

All eyes turned and looked expectantly at Buddy's tired form. He sagged against 15 as she gently lowered him down to sit on the ground and then sat beside him to prop him up against her. Looking at the scared and hopeful faces that all awaited his answered he replied, "I'm grateful to you for extending the hand of friendship to us, and opening your home up to us. But I will not, and cannot stay." He glanced around the room and noticing the confusion on the faces of the turtles who called themselves his brethren; he went on.

"15 and I were in the Hallway, we heard the entire story of your creation, and it's not that I doubt it, it's just that, that's no longer _my_ story. You may have known me for the past 25 years, and it maybe that you're completely mistaken. All I know is who I am now, and who I hold loyalties too now; not who I used to be. And I have known my brother and my sister for almost as long as I can remember; they have always taken care of me. They gave me my first name, and you may say that you were the ones who did that but, I have no memory of that. I only have memories of them. I'm willing to be allies, and even friends with you, but you are not my family."

The heavy silence that followed Buddy's speech was broken by Michelangelo, "You could stay here though, and I mean all of you."

15 shook her head, "That's very kind Thank you but--,"

"Done." 14 interrupted her. This was perfect he could appease the intense guilt that boiled inside him at the thought of breaking up either of their families, and maybe he could get some proper medical care for Buddy. 14 ignored the burning glared that bored into his head as he turned to make plans with Michelangelo. 15's wrath would have to be dealt with later. '_She had to see it from his point of view eventually, had too see how this was much better for them. Right?_'


End file.
